osprey

[RWinn]

I was doing a water change in my pond this morning and came in to get a drink and came back out about 10 min later and had an osprey circling over head about 30' up. I spent the last hour running fishing line all over my backyard. Tomorrow I will have to go get a net.

[LynneNY]

I feel your pain - we have a pterodactyl here - uhhhh... I mean heron!

[miguynmkoi]

This is my new look for the green heron loving my lily pond where my fancies live    This is a description I got off AllAboutBirds.com that describe this  to the "T" - A small, stocky wading bird, the Green Heron is common in wet spots across much of North America. It can be difficult to see as it stands motionless waiting for small fish to approach within striking range, but it frequently announces its presence by its loud squawking.  Another fact: I've seen them in action standing patiently over my pond waiting for a too friendly ryunkin or ranchu to swim up.  And this happened with a bird netting over pond and another over the whole area like a canopy.  No loss yet, knock on wood.  So I had to get creative and set up plastic covered wire closet shelves so the darn bird doesn't get a break and hopefully break a beak.

[KatFish]

Good luck!  Way to get creative 

[tootsie]

Annette, I love it   How did you come upon this project? Can you give us some information on depth, width, and about how long it took to put it together ?

[RWinn]

I think I might have seen a post on here about it or it was from the guy at the local pond store, it is about 6' over the pond and large enough to cover the whole thing overlaping the sides by about 2'. I stapled the line to the fence and tied it back to my wifes canopy over the patio ran it back and forth A LOT in an alternating zig zag. It took abot an hour to do the job

[miguynmkoi]

RWinn that's a lot of winding string!    Need photos now!

Tootsie, I dug this pond 3' deep and built a wood post wall about 1' high, 8' long and the width is 5' on the left end and 4' at the right end, all lined and capped with stone.  It took the whole 4th of July weekend in 2008, while DH was out of town.  Got to give my son some digging credits.  He started the depth and I went from there and throwing my back out indefinitely    I love my "Lily Pond" and the fishies, all named - shubs, wakins, ryukins, orandas, ranchus, and sarrassa comets.  Basically anything with long fins    Just this past winter I had to fight the green heron.  Only a year before that the netting went up for the egrets.

[greenthumbnails]

RWinn that's a lot of winding string!    Need photos now!

Tootsie, I dug this pond 3' deep and built a wood post wall about 1' high, 8' long and the width is 5' on the left end and 4' at the right end, all lined and capped with stone.  It took the whole 4th of July weekend in 2008, while DH was out of town.  Got to give my son some digging credits.  He started the depth and I went from there and throwing my back out indefinitely    I love my "Lily Pond" and the fishies, all named - shubs, wakins, ryukins, orandas, ranchus, and sarrassa comets.  Basically anything with long fins    Just this past winter I had to fight the green heron.  Only a year before that the netting went up for the egrets.

Hey, Annette I remember that. I recall being  very impressed  you did that all on your own   What do you do when the lilies bloom though, or do they not go up that high to touch the netting?

[miguynmkoi]

What do you do when the lilies bloom though, or do they not go up that high to touch the netting?

  Unfortunately most of the flowers grow taller than the net allows.  I just let the buds grow up and through the netting.  This is my first summer with the shelving.  You sure brought up a good question.  gonna have ta think about that one when it happens. 

[frogman3]

I keep my net high enough off the pond to allow the lilies to do their thing plus allow the frogs to come and go by using thin bamboo stakes no more than 3/16" in dia. which makes them flexible positioned around the pond to stretch the net tight. You can then slide the net up or down the stakes to suit your taste. Done this way it takes only minutes to remove one side to service the lilies plus the stake are hardly noticeable.

[karen J]

Annette, that looks great! That's a clever idea.

My BIL made a neat cover out of wooden lattice that he cut to fit the curvy shape of their pond. It keeps the raccoons out, too.